


Mistakes made, times lost

by thelittlespook



Series: Tumblr Prompts (now-theres-a-spoiler-for-you) [1]
Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M, Mattex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 03:42:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2453411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlespook/pseuds/thelittlespook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a filled prompt for the lovely Rio. I interpreted it a little broadly but I think it turned out alright.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Mistakes made, times lost

**Author's Note:**

> This is a filled prompt for the lovely Rio. I interpreted it a little broadly but I think it turned out alright.

Walking up the stairs and into the hotel foyer, she adjusts herself just so. It had been 20 years since she'd seen the majority of these people and she'd be damned if she didn't look her best. Some, she was certain, would be married with a family by now. Others would be working at the job of their dreams. What did she have to offer? Twice divorced, unable to break away from the small screen and her fertility woes were virtually common knowledge.

 

Frustrated, she asks herself- _'Why am I even doing this?'_

 

"Alex?" 

 

_'Oh, that's why.’_

 

"Hello Matt," she says, internally flinching at the memory of their last meeting. 

 

_'If you’d said yes, your life could have been so much different. You could have been happy.’_

 

"Yes, you could- But you've never been one to dwell on your regrets."

 

Alex turns to face him, the realisation that she has verbalised her thoughts forces a hesitant smile to her face.

 

She purses her lips in thought. "Not all of them, no." 

 

His face remains passive, save for the slight raising of his questioning brows. "You do have regrets then?" 

 

"Every day." 

 

Matt takes a step closer. "For example?" 

 

"Not buying a new toaster before the old one almost burned the house down," she replies with a nonchalant shrug. 

 

"And?" Matt smiles lopsidedly as he presses on. Her insides twist in that familiar way she remembers but she continues. 

 

"Reading articles about my apparently horrid dress sense." 

 

He takes another step closer and leans in to speak. "Those seem like pretty trivial regrets," he murmurs. He is now inches from her face and she can feel his breath on her neck. A tingle of desire shoots down her spine, causing her to shiver. 

 

"Anything else?" 

 

Alex shakes off her wayward lust and rolls her eyes. "Well, there is this one thing," she hums, poising a thoughtful finger to her chin. "A friend I had a long time ago...." She pauses dramatically and he snorts impatiently. "He gave me some good advice and I completely ignored it at the time." 

 

Matt shrugs. "It's a bit late now, I expect." 

 

"I don't know," Alex coos, leaning in closer. "It's never too late..." Matt looks up with an expectant smile. "To look into real estate investment," she finishes with a sly grin. 

 

Matt sighs, crestfallen "Yeah, I hear the market is booming right now," he replies sarcastically.

 

Alex giggles to herself quietly and then decides it's time to turn the tables. 

 

"So, what about you. Any regrets?" 

 

Matt furrows his brow contemplatively. 

 

"Well, there is one thing." He hesitates, waiting for a reaction from Alex. Years ago, he could read her like a book. Right now, however, she was completely unreadable. Sighing, he continues. "I had a friend. I'd known her for most of my life and I made a terrible mistake. I fell in love with her, you see." He scrubs a hand over his stubbly face and takes a sideward glance at her. Her expression is softer but before he can further analyse, she looks away. 

 

"And you consider that a mistake?" Her voice wavers ever so slightly on the last word and his heart jumps in his chest. 

 

Matt shakes his head. "No. My mistake was not telling her sooner. She was engaged to another man and they married straight out of school. I told her it was the biggest mistake she'd ever make and we never spoke again." 

 

She feels her throat constricting, signalling the imminent arrival of tears. "Did you try to contact her?" 

 

"I did." 

 

"And?" Her voice wavers. 

 

"She ran off to conquer Hollywood," he shrugs. When he looks up, Alex is hastily wiping at her eyes. "I hear she's going to be here tonight. I was kind of hoping to apologise, actually."

 

Alex chokes back a sob. "Don't." 

 

Matt eyes her curiously as she continues. "It sounds to me like she's the one at fault -" she chokes. 

 

"Really?" 

 

She nods. "And as an authority on this kind of thing, I can tell you that you were completely right," she wails. 

 

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry! God Alex," he soothes in a panic. He takes her into his arms and hugs her tightly. 

 

"I'm so sorry, Matt. All this time, I've been so stubborn - I was too embarrassed to look back-" she cries into his shoulder. 

 

He strokes her hair comfortingly, shushing her cries. "It's alright, love. We still have plenty of time to waste. Let's do it together this time, eh?" 

 

They came to a mutual decision not to attend their reunion. They'd seen enough ghosts of their past for one evening. 

 


End file.
